As much as I love control, I might love Asher in control more. His lips touch my neck and I make a sound I didn’t know I could make. He alternates between soft bites and eager kisses, which leaves me arching into him in desperation. I want more of him. I slide my hands under his shirt and then push him away to pull it off.

His body is gorgeous. Lean and lanky but softly sculpted. I want to lick him all over.

But he’s still in charge and his lips move from my neck to my chest and he’s mapping my body like I’m a destination he’s trying to discover. When his tongue swirls over the swell of my breast, I moan so loudly that I almost drown out the sound of my phone.

It’s my alarm.

“Fuck,” I say and it’s not in a fit of pleasure.

It’s panic.

It’s Tuesday.

I’m going to be late for work.

“Fuck fuck fuck.” I wiggle out from underneath Asher, who looks terrified and confused as to why we’re not kissing anymore.

“O,” he says, sitting back on his heels as I scramble to put on my bra and shirt. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m so sorry,” I tell him, fastening the clip of my bra. “Please don’t be mad.”

“I’m not mad, Olivia,” he says, watching as I pull on my shirt. “I’m confused.”

“You look really frustrated.” I try not to laugh. He looks like he’s in pain.

“Yeah, well…” he laughs.

“I’m really sorry. I have to go,” I say.

Pants.

I need pants.

I grab my leggings that are hanging over a chair, still damp from the snow.

“I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

His eyes shift and they’re electric again. “I might hold you to that, Ms. Langley.”

I kiss him again and I don’t want to stop. It takes every ounce of willpower I have to drag myself out the door.

When I arrive at the restaurant thirty-seven minutes late, Ivan whispers into my ear that this is my final warning.

11

There’s only one remedy for a quiet office:

Mariah Carey and her Grammy Award-winning background singer, Olivia Langley.

I get to the office early—not to prove a point to Asher that I’m not always late—but because it was stupid to go to sleep when I didn’t get in from the restaurant until after four. Ivan had me scrubbing dishes with the overnight bakers as my penance for being late. I went home, took a shower, changed, and downed two cups of coffee before grabbing bagels and a four-shot latte to get me through the day.